How long does the recticle glow green with a 1-2 minute flash lite charge? I have seen anywhere from an hour to only a few minutes... Can anyone confirm this. I mean if you have to whip out the flash lite every few minutes at dusk or dawn to keep it charged, then it is a waste of time plus you might spook the game with the movement... But if 1 charge will last say an hour or so then it has a good use while deer hunting. Does anyone know from experience the answer to this question.

Yes, I can speak first hand of this.The early models, first run, did not perform as expected by the early reports in gun articles about the FireFly reticle. These problems have been addressed. I think alot of people expected the FireFly to illuminate like a battery operated reticle, which I don't believe was the goal of the FireFly reticle. When first charged, the reticle glows very bright and then settles down to work as a reticle that can be seen through the optics in which it was intended to be used for, hunting situations. If you are charging the FireFly reticle as directed it will continue to glow until there is no more legal hunting light available. Also, if you are not using the FireFly reticle in a woods/hunting situation you will not see the benefit of how this reticle was "designed to perform". From my experience, the FireFly performs as advertised, which is one of the reasons that I own several 4200's with the FireFly reticle option. Remember one more thing, if the reticle does not live up to your expectations, you can return the scope to Bushnell for a Full refund for up to 1 year!!!. As Chris stated, " no other scope company in the world offers you that level of confidence!!!

Thanks for the info, but still a little uncertain what you meant by "continue to glow until dark". But say about 4:30 pm I charge it for several minutes, will it hold the "fire fly" glow until say 6pm when it gets dark, or does the glow last only for 5-10 minutes?

As I stated, and perhaps I was not clear, charge the reticle with a good light for two minutes and the reticle will be visible for you to make your shot. I charge mine about as close to dark as possible..Just keep in mind that the FireFly was not designed to replace electronic sights and it does not pretend to. Also, keep in mind that electronic sights as not as durable, weigh more and need batteries. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them. If I can't answer them we will shift them over to Chris. Also, remember that this is a best of both worlds reticle designs for low light hunting, not to heavy and not to fine so that you cannot see it in low light. One last thought, if you are "testing the FireFly" by activating it with a flashlight , then peering through the scope and there is ANY unnatural background light, the reticle will not glow as it should. The material that is used/applies to the reticle is very similar to the phosphoresce material applied to wristwatches/clocks if that helps you understand the concept on how the FireFly reticle operates.

Also as Roy touched on...the flashlight makes a big difference. The little flashlight that comes with the scope works OK but using a top end light like SureFire makes a huge difference. Also focus the flashlight's beam from a flood to a spot. Our test show that just doing this decreases the amount of time to charge it and increases the amount of time it last. This could also explain the varying results you are hearing about.

You will not harm the reticle with a flashlight and Chris brought up a good pointer about adjusting the beam from flood to spot. One more thing, and it might sound nuts, but apparently some people have attempted to activate the FireFly reticle using sunlight!!!! Really, I'm not joking. This bone headed move WILL damage the FireFly reticle.

I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you referring to the performance of the Elites during daylight hours? If so, the Elites that are equiped with the FireFly reticle perform as any other scope which is the beauty of the design of the FireFly reticle. The FireFly reticle appears as any other reticle during the conditions you speak of. The beauty of the FireFly is that it needs to be ativated with a extermal light source to perform in low light conditions. The FireFly reticle, while seemingly simple in concept, was in a developmental process for approx. 9 years before perfected. Imangine applying an incondecent material to wire that is approx. the thickness of a human hair!!! Or while on that special hunt, try finding a CR2032 Lithium battery in the midlde of no where. To me, the FireFly reticle concept is a winner anyway you look at it. Like the frizzbee and Hoolahoop, I say to myself, why didn't I think of that!!!!

the clarity of the scope is awesome..my friends and i compared numerous high end scopes...after i got mine..and they have gone out and bought 1 each. they both have several burris and leupolds on other guns.

How does Busnell recommend that you charge the firefly, through the objective or ocular lens? If hunting all day, say with the rifle slung, would that amount of sunlight have a negative effect on the reticle? Could long term charging with a Surefire?

That's no lie and the reason the U.S. military requires that almost all of their equptment use a AA battery. The EOTech, Leupold CQ/T, Flashlights, PVS-14, etc.

Also, a AA battery lasts for around 600 hours if all it's doing is illuminating a reticle (At least, for the Leupold CQ/T, only one I know about, obviously). The tiny watch batteries found on the side of your standard illuminated civilian scope last quite a bit less. If you have your CQ/T fully charged, you can have it lit up 10 hours a day for two months in a row without charging it or putting in a new battery.

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot create polls in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum